Nine years ago, Diversions Entertainment brought us One Must Fall, a fighter that made us take another look at the fighting genre, especially how it related to gaming platforms. With rich graphics and rapid-fire gameplay, we all thought "wow, this is a great game," but we were all stunned when we realized this was a PC-based fighter. After all, the gaming school of thought held that PC's were for strategy games and consoles were for twitch games, such as fighters, yet here's this amazingly rich and enjoyable fighter, and it's on a PC!
Now it's almost a decade later, and Diversions has decided it's time to shake things up again by releasing One Must Fall: Battlegrounds, the sequel to the original, but with a few added twists, not the least of which is online gameplay for up to 16 players. Recently, we at DailyGame received a preview copy of OMF:BG, and if the final product stays true to the preview, the fighting genre is going to get a well-needed wake up call.
The storyline for OMF:BG is simple: it's 20 years after the timeline of the original game, and the World Aeronautics and Robotics Organization has collapsed. This leads to a new series of robotic tournaments being fought in a variety of worldwide arenas. Why are the robot fights still happening? Well, that's still up in the air, and maybe the answer will be provided after the game ships. But the concept of the game is as simple as the story: you grab a robot and beat the tar out of other robots.
When you begin the game, you'll choose from a variety of fighters, each with its own distinctive characteristics and personality. Some are fast, others strong, and still others are a balance of all the skills. And whichever character you choose, you'll be forced to play within their skill limits. Once you have a player at the ready, you'll need to choose a robot for them to control. There are eight robots, each having the standard array of combat moves and a few signature special moves. The special abilities range from the crushing blows of the "Warlord" class heavy robot to the flamethrower fists of the "Pyro" class robot. The list of available robots and fighters is long and diverse enough to ensure you'll find something and someone who fits your fighting style.
With a robot and fighter chosen, it's time to step into the ring. Here's where the game differs most from other fighters. First off, it takes place in gigantic 3D arenas, which are packed with power ups and deadly hazards. Then there’s the multiplayer, allowing for 16-player online brawls. That's right, OMF:BG allows for full-bore online fights with up to 16 players. While testing we rarely found a 16-player game, but we did match up for plenty of eight-player games, all of which ran smoothly and relatively lag-free.
The graphics in OMF:BG are nothing short of spectacular, with sharp definition evident in all the robots. Reflections, lighting and shadows are dynamically generated, and the arenas themselves are all quite pretty to look at. Be sure to look at our screenshots, which are from actual gameplay, to see what we mean.
The 10 combat arenas play a major role in the fighting, more as a weapon than just a fighting locale. Many have hazards such as spinning blades and fire pits, which can be instant death when a robot comes in contact with one. You’ll find plenty of options for disposing of your opponents, and likewise, they will for you. The AI is even smart enough to know what areas of the arena to avoid while trying to line you up for a buzz saw through the gut.
As with any good fighter, OMF:BG comes with a solid combo system for dealing out punishment. The basic fighting moves of punches and kicks are supplemented with multi-strike combos, evasive maneuvers, power attacks and a few super attacks. While at first blush the game seems to be a simple button-masher, you’ll find that the longer you play it (especially online), the more time you’ll need to spend learning to chain together combination attacks. You’ll only get so far throwing punches in OMF:BG.
The developers are promising an editing kit that will allow gamers to modify just about any component of the game. Everything is fair game for modding in One Must Fall: Battlegrounds, including arena designs, robot mutations, color schemes, sounds, hazards and power ups. Having a full modding engine at their fingertips, gamers will easily find ways to extend the gameplay life of OMF:BG for a long time to come.
The original One Must Fall proved once and for all that PC titles didn’t have to be limited to deep strategy or first-person shooters. Now, with One Must Fall: Battlegrounds, Diversions has proven not only is there a place for fighters on the PC, but that their place is right up toward the head of the line. With multiplayer online gameplay, a fully moddable game system and a wide variety of characters and robots, OMF:BG is one of those games that may raise the bar for the fighting genre, at least on the PC platform.
